Guest
Wiz kid Adam Marrilaga or ’Laga’ as he is more commonly known, is not a prolific yirdaki maker but makes the occasional instrument for his own use. We were privileged to acquire this yirdaki and will be offering it for sale in the iDIDJ Store to help pay for 2 charter planes for families attending a funeral at Elcho Island. Of the several yirdaki we were fortunate to record Laga on, this was his personal favourite... he made it himself afterall. The yirdaki was later painted by one of his mothers with a quirky design but has since been removed leaving it as it currently is: all black. This yirdaki registers in E fundamental when played in a plain unadorned manner. When pushed harder and with the injection of traditional rhythms, the fundamental note jumps to F. The overtone note is F#. A feature of this yirdaki is its beautifully balanced voice. The acoustics are dense with complexity and shades of light and darkness, and every imaginable tone in between. Smoky, murky bass flavours are combined perfectly with brighter, effervescent harmonics in the higher register, and the mid-range is unwaveringly strong and solid. Transitions from fundamental to overtone, and back, are easily executed without thought or effort, aided by an ideal interval and spot-on backpressure. This is a Black Beast with power, loudness, and lightning fast responsivenes. It measures 145 cm in length, with a 10-11.5 cm bell and a mouthpiece of 28-30 mm diameter, made comfortable with a little sugarbag beeswax. Its weight is 5.2 kg. This is a well-crafted yirdaki with a rustic finish, no patches (and no duct tape!), a little scuffing from use wear, and some of the black paint has worn off at the mouthpiece end from handling. Otherwise in great condition. This is the only yirdaki we have made by Marrilaga, and the only one we know of that is available for sale anywhere. It is an instrument of high pedigree, made by a young man with a consumate, exceptional talent for yirdaki playing.
